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1816IIHF News from www.iifh.comTYPO3 - get.content.righthttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssMon, 19 Mar 2018 17:41:00 +0100Over 1,000 players celebratehttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12454
Global Girls’ Game gives women’s hockey a boostThe Global Girls’ Game started on Saturday morning in Auckland, New Zealand, and ended on Sunday night in Canada in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. During these 37 games the teams scored goals representing Team Blue and Team White before handing over to the next country. The score went back and forth, and in the end Team Blue beat Team White 134-129. But the score was of course not the most important matter of the Global Girls’ Game.

Over 1,000 women and girls were on the ice for the 37 games in 37 countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe, Africa, North and Latin America – and many more in national events accompanying the Global Girls’ Game.

In some countries it was just a game. For some countries organizing such a game even meant going abroad like for the Irish players, who have to travel north to Belfast to play hockey due to the lack of an ice rink in the Republic of Ireland. Similarly the Singaporean women played north, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Not because they don’t have an ice rink but because most of the players were there for the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia.

In bigger hockey countries it was easier to organize such a game and some made it a big event of its own. Hockey Canada selected players from all across the country to convene in the Toronto area, visit sights like the Hockey Hall of Fame or the Niagara Falls before playing ending the global event with the last part, a game in Mississauga.

In some countries it was a league game that represented their country like in the United States a game of the NWHL in Boston, in Russia a game of their league WHL in Ufa, and in the United Arab Emirates the clubs Dubai Gazelles and Abu Dhabi Storms played each other with mostly desert between their cities.

In the United States and in Australia a national long game over several time zones was organized with one counting to the Global Girls’ Game while involving many more female players in the other events. And in other countries there were activities surrounding the game from try-hockey events to Global Girls’ Game cakes and real penguins in blue and white for the ceremonial face-off of the second game in Japan.

At the other end of the scale the Global Girls’ Game, now in its third edition, allowed women’s hockey to recruit new players in new cities and new countries.

Take Lithuania as an example for a success story of the event. The biggest of the three Baltic countries didn’t have women’s hockey until using the first Global Girls’ Game to assemble its first-ever women’s team that played against a Latvian team. One year later Lithuania had 34 female players on its own to have its own domestic women’s hockey game. And this year Lithuania has its first women’s hockey club, the Hockey Girls based in Elektrenai, the city Darius Kasparaitis and Dainius Zubrus hail from. It plays all its games in Latvia where it became the fourth member in the league. Since it was busy competing there during the weekend, it was involved both in the Latvian leg of the Global Girls’ Game on Saturday as well as in Lithuania’s part of the Global Girls’ Game on Sunday.

Latvia is the only Baltic country with a league but while Lithuania enters the stage, Estonia tries to re-establish women’s hockey and used the Global Girls’ Game to launch a tournament and find out about the level of interested players in the country to be able to start a championship in the future.

Ukraine played for the second time and has meanwhile established a women’s hockey league to be able to use the Global Girls’ Game for young players and to recruit more girls to take up the sport. And in Croatia the new ice arena in Sisak – the first time the city has an indoor rink – was used to have 6-year-old girls play their first game at a full-size ice rink along with older girls and adults.

In some countries with a bigger pool of player the game was a good opportunity to check out the talent like U16 teams in Great Britain and U14 teams in Switzerland playing each other. In the Czech Republic a training for U16 players across the country was organized with the 13 best players joining the U16 women’s national team players to play the Global Girls’ Game. That made it 63 girls who were involved in the Czech event.

Unfortunately not all were that lucky. A record number in participating countries was missed as the events in Belgium, Greece and Spain had to be cancelled at short notice due to rink and schedule issues, which will make the countries the more eager to be on board next season when the fourth Global Girls’ Game will be played.

The event has established itself as a global recruitment event for women’s hockey beside the World Girls’ Ice Hockey Weekend that will go into its 8th edition on 6-7 October 2018 (save the date and ice time!).

The Global Girls’ Game has shown how bigger and smaller hockey countries organize their events in many different ways but were connected by one and the same passion for hockey and to grow the game. Despite counting the goals, the Global Girls’ Game eventually only has winners.

Click here to read more about the various games in 37 countries.

MARTIN MERK]]>on topIIHF01 Austria03 Canada04 Czech Republic05 Denmark06 Finland07 France08 Germany10 JapanMon, 12 Mar 2018 18:02:00 +0100#GlobalGirlsGamehttp://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/sport/women/global-girls-game/
Weekend-long game in 37 countries is onon topIIHF10 JapanNew ZealandChinese TaipeiSingaporeAustralia15 RussiaUnited Arab EmiratesTurkeySat, 10 Mar 2018 08:40:00 +0100Norway holds its nervehttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12128
Poland misses out in shootoutThe teams met in the final game of the tournament in Slovenia, both knowing that any kind of victory would be good enough to win the competition and claim a spot in Division IA next year. Norway eased into a 2-0 lead thanks to a quick-fire salvo early in the second period, but the Poles refused to yield. Dominik Jarosz pulled one back in the middle frame, then Alan Lyszczarczyk potted a dramatic equalizer with seven seconds left. Overtime was scoreless, but in the shootout Norway’s strong goaltending made the difference: Jorgen Hanneborg, who plays his hockey in Finland with the Espoo Blues, won all his duels. Martin Ellingsen claimed the decisive score.

The game promised to be a clash of styles. Norway had reached this stage thanks to a miserly defence, allowing just three goals in four games. Poland, meanwhile, offered lively offense: Lyszczarczyk, who plays in Canada with Owen Sound System, topped the scoring charts ahead of strike partner Bartlomiej Jeziorski, but there were questions over the defence, especially after the team allowed six power play goals during the tournament.

At times, the game reflected that. From the start, Poland was happy to get forward and shoot at Hanneborg’s net. Norway, by contrast, looked for more control of the puck and sought to carve out clear-cut opportunities. After a scoreless opening stanza, the Norwegians exploded with two goals in 64 seconds early in the second. Samuel Solem created the first, weaving his way to the Polish net before Esbjorn Live Vold beat Kamil Lewartowski to a rebound and open the scoring. It wasn’t long before Mads Homdrom added a second, getting the vital touch on Joachim Nielsen’s shot from the blue line after Poland failed to clear its zone.

But then the Polish PK raised its game, seeing off a short 3-on-5 situation before Jarosz reduced the deficit. Then came the dramatic finish. Ellingsen almost won it for Norway but fired narrowly wide of the empty net, then got a minor for holding. Poland took advantage, forcing the puck home with seven seconds left on the clock when Lyszczarchuk shot a wrister through heavy traffic to tie the scores. That was his eighth goal and 15th point of the tournament; Jeziorski’s helper took him to 12 (5+7).

The Poles celebrated hard, but the reprieve was temporary. Ellingsen redeemed himself for that late penalty by deking his way past Lewartowski to win the shootout, and the tournament. The result means Norway makes an instant return to Division IA following its relegation in Bremerhaven 12 months ago.

However, Poland’s future at this level looks encouraging. Head coach David Leger highlighted the youth of his roster, which had two players born in 2000 and drew heavily on the squad that suffered relegation at u18 level a year ago.

Host nation Slovenia had hopes of disturbing the top seeds in the group, but finished third after losing to Poland in a shootout after a 4-4 tie and then suffering a 1-5 drubbing against the Norwegians. Ukraine took fourth place, but was competitive in all its games.

At the foot of the table, Lithuania returns to Division II after picking up just two points from two overtime losses. Italy also finished on two points, but crucially defeated the Lithuanians 2-1 in overtime to preserve its status by virtue of the head-to-head record. Simon Berger, of HC Pustertal, got the vital goal for the Azzurri, converting a power play three minutes into the extras.

Among the individual awards, the two Polish hot-shots Lyszczarczyk and Jeziorski led the scoring, with Norway’s Jacob Alexander Noer coming in third with 4+6=10 points. Poland’s late goal denied Hanneborg the top ranking among the goalies – Lithuania’s Laurynas Lubis pipped him with by stopping an impressive 95.29% of his shots across three appearances, although the Norwegian had fractionally the better GAA of 1.26 against 1.29.

Click here for scores and stats.

ANDY POTTS]]>on topWorldsU2009 Italy14 Poland13 Norway17 SloveniaLithuaniaUkraineon leftSat, 16 Dec 2017 10:04:00 +0100From Odessa to Kyivhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12115
U18 World Championship Division I Group B movedThe Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine originally planned to host the event at the country’s biggest city at the Black Sea. However, the reconstruction of the Odessa Sports Palace will take longer than foreseen after defects at the building have been discovered.

The Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports therefore applied to transfer the event to the capital of Kyiv where it will take place in the 7,000-seat Palace of Sports in the city centre, which hosted the men’s national teams during the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A.

The event will be played from 14-20 April 2018 according to the same schedule. The tournament includes Hungary, Austria, Japan, Italy, Ukraine and Romania.

MARTIN MERK]]>on rightWorldsU1801 Austria10 Japan09 ItalyHungaryRomaniaUkraineTue, 05 Dec 2017 11:43:00 +0100Successful debut in Rigahttp://continental-cup2018-groupb.iihf.hockey/en/news/successful-debut-in-riga/
Kurbads triumphs on Continental Cup bowCelebrating its tournament debut by hosting the weekend’s games, Kurbads set the tone with a 5-2 victory over Poland’s GKS Tychy then followed up with an 8-1 demolition of Ukrainian champion Donbass Donetsk on Saturday.

That confirmed the Latvians’ progress to the next phase even before Sunday’s match-up with neighbouring Narva PSK of Estonia. That Baltic clash finished 2-1 to Kurbads, who completed the tournament with a 100% record and topped the final table ahead of the Poles.

Prior to the tournament, many in Latvia had identified the game with Tychy as the key clash – and Kurbads delivered a performance that threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the group. After surviving one early scare, when Bartlomiej Jeziorski fired over the top of an open net, the home team impressed. Martins Cipulis opened the scoring in the 16th minute, the first of five unanswered goals that put the game beyond the Poles.

Janis Sprukts, who arrived at the club just a couple of weeks ago, was also among the scorers: the 35-year-old centre tasted Continental Cup action last season with Italy’s Ritten Sport and brings a wealth of World Championship and Olympic experience from his time with the Latvian national team. Tychy grabbed a couple of late consolation goals through Jakub Witecki, but never threatened to change the outcome.

Home goalie Uldis Calpa, who also saved a penalty shot in the third period of that game, admitted that the Continental Cup brought higher stakes and a greater intensity to the action. But he felt his team did a good job of stifling a strong GKS outfit. “We knew that they would start the game well, and at the beginning they were playing at a very high level,” he said in an interview published on Sportacentrs.com. “But we were able to get back into the game and they seemed to fade a little bit. Maybe they are not used to being under pressure, and we knew were the underdogs.”

Next up came Donbass. The Ukrainian champion returned to Continental Cup action last season after the club’s progress was fractured by the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, and was back for another campaign here. But Kurbads was on a roll, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the men from the Donbass region, proving too slick in decision making and execution with some fast-paced hockey in front of the Ukrainian net. Cipulis had two goals and two assists, Martins Lavrovs, much-travelled even at 23 years old, scored twice and Sprukts added three assists.

Their success highlighted the impact of the team’s recent transfer policy, drawn up to build on last season’s Latvian championship win and build a competitive roster for the Continental Cup. In addition to Sprukts’ arrival at the beginning of October, the club announced the arrival of Cipulis last week. The 36-year-old, a veteran of three Olympics and 11 World Championships, added valuable international know-how and finished the tournament as leading scorer with 3+3=6 points from three games.

Along with Sprukts, Lavrovs brought Continental Cup experience from his time with Liepaja and a touch of Trans-Atlantic action with the Florida Eels. Sprukts himself made 14 NHL appearances with the Florida Panthers. Jekabs Redlihs, one of three Redlihs brothers familiar from the upper echelons of Latvian hockey, was another addition to the Kurbads roster ahead of this tournament. The defenceman, who played almost 200 KHL games for Dinamo Riga, is combining his duties as head coach of HK Lido in Latvia’s second tier with action for Kurbads in the country’s top flight.

The experience of Sprukts and Cipulis also played a role in getting Kurbads a win in its final game of the competition. With the group outcome decided, Narva was playing for pride and threatened an upset when it took a first-period lead through Aleksandr Kuznetsov. But Sprukts got an assist on the equalizer from Sandis Zolmanis and Cipulis had a hand in Toms Bluks’ game-winner to ensure the weekend finished with another home victory.

Narva finished without a point from its three games, suffering an 11-0 loss to Tychy along the way. The Poles claimed second place thanks to Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Donbass and, in Michael Cichy, had the group’s leading goalscorer with four.

Kurbads’ success earns the team a place in the third round where it will compete in Group D. The Latvians travel to Denmark, and will face host team Rungsted Ishockey, Yunost Minsk of Belarus, and Great Britain’s Sheffield Steelers in a round-robin contest from 17 to 19 November.

ANDY POTTS]]>on topClub12 Latvia14 PolandEstoniaUkraineon lefton rightMon, 23 Oct 2017 09:38:00 +0200Capital challengehttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12011
Ukraine coach eager to make his mark in ScotlandEDINBURGH - Having yet to record a winning season in the history of the Elite League, the Edinburgh Capitals have turned their sights east to try and signal a new dawn.

Expectations have been raised around the Capitals, as they get their twelfth season in the Elite League (EIHL) underway this weekend. With perennial play-off qualifiers Braehead Clan making the short drive east from Glasgow, the Capitals step out on the ice following a frantic off-season activity.

While the British game has historically relied on North American contributions, the Capitals have instead embarked down the opposite direction in search for a cutting edge for the 2017/18 season, with six of the new signees hold a Russian passport. A major part in the club's new formula for success will be coming from the bench, with Dmytro Khrystych hand-picked as the man to lead the team to new heights.

"During the last four seasons, the Edinburgh Capitals have finished last in the standings three times. Now there is a new attitude in the city, coming from me and from the new players, so we are going to try to make the play-offs and then continue from there," said an optimistic head coach Khrystych ahead of his new challenge.

Kyiv-born Khrystych played twelve seasons in the NHL as a forward and made two NHL All-Star appearances. An ensuing coaching career has so far seen Khrystych be part of the coaching staff at the international level with his native Ukraine and as a video coach at club level in the KHL. Now at the age of 48, he steps into his first job as professional head coach and into uncharted waters on the British Isles.

One of his previous bouts with the British game came during his three years working as assistant coach for Ukraine. At the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B played in his native Kyiv, hosts Ukraine were aiming for a return to the top division. Instead, their promotion campaign derailed right from the outset.

"We were hoping to win gold during that tournament and our first game was against Great Britain. It was a game we did not expect to lose, but that's what happened and in the end we finished in third place," recalled Khrystych.

Now six and a half years later, Khrystych is about experience the British game first hand. He was introduced to the vacant coaching position in Edinburgh by his close friend Andrei Nikolishin. A World champion at both senior and junior level, Nikolishin previously had brief stints as head coach for Traktor Chelyabinsk and Amur Khabarovsk in the KHL and was hired in the offseason to assist the Capitals with their player recruitment.

After the addition of the Guildford Flames and Milton Keynes Lightning into the EIHL, the league's four Scottish participants, the Fife Flyers, Braehead Clan, Dundee Stars and Edinburgh Capitals, now solely make up the Gardiner Conference with many feisty encounters to look forward to this season.

Khrystych’s first test came at the Elite Scottish Cup held at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Ice Rink earlier this month. Billed as a new annual venture aiming to promote the game north of the border, it saw the Capitals finish third following a 3-0 win over Dundee Stars. The result was significant from a defensive perspective as one of their new Russian recruits, 24-year-old Pavel Shegalo enjoyed the first shut-out for a Capitals netminder in three years. .

"Nikolishin offered me a lot of good advice. Not only in terms of tactics, but also how to work with the new guys from Russia and to help them in a new country, where some of them don't even speak the language," said Khrystych, as his team hopes to click into gear ahead of the looming league opener.

"Mistakes were made during the games we played so far, but we learn from them as we try to have a much better outcome for the season. We will be looking to play aggressively when possible going forward, but at the same time we need to keep it smart in our own zone."

HENRIK MANNINEN

]]>on topWorldsGreat BritainUkraine15 Russiaon lefton rightWed, 20 Sep 2017 13:31:00 +0200Provisional suspensionshttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=12007
Two Ukrainian players to be investigatedThe two players of the Ukrainian men’s national team are provisionally suspended from all ice hockey competitions or activities authorized and organized by the IIHF or any IIHF Member National Association as of 14 September 2017. They have previously been suspended by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine from activities in the country.

The IIHF will investigate into the alleged violation of IIHF Code of Conduct Rule 3.2 (Match Fixing Violations) and/or Rule 3.3.3 (Failing to cooperate with any reasonable investigation).

Both players are suspected to have been involved in a match-fixing attempt and were therefore suspended within Ukraine following investigations by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine and the national police.

The incident happened at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the last game of the tournament on 28 April between Korea and Ukraine.

The players were allegedly involved in a match-fixing attempt in which Ukraine should have lost with a margin of at least two goals. However, the game ended with a 2-1 win for Korea in shootout.

After reviewing all available evidence and reports, including evidence of increased betting on a loss of the Ukrainian team by two or more goals, the IIHF has decided to open an investigation in the players’ alleged violations and requests the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine and the involved players to fully cooperate with the IIHF.]]>on rightIIHFUkraineFri, 15 Sep 2017 10:44:00 +0200Third decade for Continental Cuphttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11890
17 teams entered; Iceland joins competitionThe international club competition goes into its 21st season and includes the top teams from leagues, usually the national champion, that are not from the six founding leagues of the Champions Hockey League. It does so with a revamped logo.

17 clubs from as many countries are entered in the competition and play a three-stage preliminary round between September and November. The field of competitors includes many countries who have participated recently but there is also a new one and one comeback.

Narva PSK will be the first Estonian participant in four years and Esja Reykjavik will be the first club from Iceland to compete internationally. Iceland has played in World Championship events since 1999 but it’s the first time a team joins an international club competition. The club was founded just three years ago and won its first championship this year.

The 17 teams were seeded into the three rounds according to the level of play and taking regional and travel aspects into consideration.

The two tournaments of the third round on the weekend of 17-19 November will determine the four teams that will make the Continental Cup Final, to be held 12-14 January 2018 at the venue of one of the finalists.

Rungsted, Denmark, and Ritten, Italy, will be the hosts of the third-round groups. Rungsted plays in the Copenhagen region, making the Continental Cup tournament a great opportunity for hockey fans in the Danish capital region to see international ice hockey ahead of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Copenhagen and Herning. The rink is also used as practice rink by the Danish national team. Ritten Sport already hosted a third-round and the final tournament last season.

There were more bids for the first two rounds making the selection a bit harder. The Serbian capital of Belgrade was chosen to host the first round from 29 September to 1 October, while the capital of Riga and Brasov from Romania will be the host cities for the second-round tournaments scheduled for 20-22 October. Latvian champion Kurbads is currently building its own arena in the Latgale Suburb district in the southeast of Riga that will open in August.

Like last year the Continental Cup winner will have the possibility to play in the Champions Hockey League of the following season pending formal approval by the CHL Board. In the last season the Nottingham Panthers became the first team from Great Britain to win the Continental Cup.

Click here for the full overview and the list of participants.]]>on topClub02 Belarus05 Denmark07 France09 Italy11 Kazakhstan12 Latvia14 PolandBulgariaSat, 24 Jun 2017 15:34:00 +020027 tournaments assignedhttp://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=11816
World Championship structure for 2018 knownSeveral top-level events have already been assigned beforehand. For the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship we will go to Copenhagen and Herning as Denmark will host the IIHF’s flagship event for the first time ever. The 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played in Buffalo in the state of New York and only a few miles away from the Canadian border.

Russia was earlier determined as host of the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship that will take place in the Ural region in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk. The Ice Hockey Federation of Russia will also host the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women’s World Championship in the city of Nizhni Novgorod. The city 400 kilometres east of Moscow is one of the most famous centres of women’s hockey in the country and home to multiple champion SKIF Nizhni Novgorod.

Many tournaments have been assigned for the levels below the top division.

The best six nations outside of the men’s top division will play the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

The event will take place in the 9,000-seat Laszlo Papp Sportarena in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

The venue has previously hosted several other hockey events at that level including the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I events in 2011 and 2013 and Olympic Pre-Qualification groups for Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018. The proposed dates are 22-28 April 2018.

Slovenia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, Hungary and Great Britain will play in the tournament and the top-two teams will qualify for the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia.

The bid for Warsaw was withdrawn by Poland in favour for Budapest since Poland hosted head-to-head events in 2015 and 2016 and plans to move forward with its application for another year.

The tier below, the 2018 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group B, will be hosted in Lithuania’s second-largest city of Kaunas. After two successful tournaments in Vilnius during the last eight years, the event will go to the largest indoor arena of the Baltic countries, the Zalgiris Arena with a capacity of 13,762 fans for ice hockey.

The venues hasn’t been used for ice hockey yet but hosted many international games in basketball, the country’s national sport, and will be ready for the proposed tournament dates 22-28 April 2018. Ukraine, Japan, Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia and Romania will battle for promotion to the Division I Group A.

In total 27 tournaments have been assigned. Often they went to venues that have the experience of IIHF tournaments in the past but beside Kaunas there were also other applicants from new markets. For example the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship Division I Group B will be played in a 4,000-seat arena in Odessa. The “pearl of the Black Sea” as the Ukrainian delegates called it was introduced to hockey only recently and the tournament should give another boost to the biggest coastal city of the country with one million inhabitants.

The events at the various levels went from cities like Asiago in Italy, Bled in Slovenia or the Latvian capital of Riga to hockey places outside of the traditional hockey countries such as Abu Dhabi, Cape Town, Erzurum, Mexico City and Queenstown. The program also includes two new countries joining the program with Kuwait and Turkmenistan.

Click here for the full list.

MARTIN MERK]]>on leftWorldsMenWomenU20U18Women U1801 Austria02 Belarus03 CanadaFri, 19 May 2017 15:44:00 +0200Korea promoted!http://wmia2017.iihf.com/en/news/kor-ukr/
Joins Austria to top divisionIt will be the first time in history that the host of the 2018 Olympics will play in the top division of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship next year in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark, where they will be joined by tournament winner Austria.

“The first and second periods were a little tough but we did our best and skated hard so we could get out with a good result. Now we will be focusing on the top division and will do our best to stay there,” Sanghoon Shin said.

It will be the first time for an Asian team to play in the top division since Japan between 1998 and 2004 when the Asian qualifier had a spot. Korea overtook Japan as the top-ranked Asian nation for the first time in 2016.

Korea finishes the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A in second and the World Championship program this year in 18th place overall. The previous best placing was 21st in 2013 and 2016.

“It was a very exciting game until the last shot. The Ukrainian players played extremely hard, they blocked shots, they’re physical, they have individual skill. Their goalie was outstanding all tournament. They took us all the way to the shootout,” Korea head coach Jim Paek said.

“It’s very important for us [to be promoted]. We get to play against top-division teams and get this experience. For many years we haven’t been able to play against such countries so it’s important to get this experience.”

Kazakhstan finishes the tournament in third place ahead of Poland, Hungary and Ukraine. The host earned its first and only point tonight but will be relegated.

“You want to come in and win every game. We played five games. We started the tournament 3-0; then Austria set us back. It was pretty tough today. Ukraine is a top team. They’re good to play against. We knew [if] we win we’re going up so that was in the back of the mind all game. It put a lot more pressure on the guys but we came through. It was a nail-biter but it was fun for the fans,” said Michael Swift, who was credited with the game-winning goal after opening the shootout with a marker.

“The next 12 months that are coming up will be something very special for Korean ice hockey. They’ve never been to the top [division]. We’re there now and we want to stay there. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Korea outshot Ukraine 36-23 during the 65 minutes of play but did too little with its opportunities.

Korea had more opportunities in a scoreless first period also during two power plays and eventually opened the scoring at 4:59 of the middle frame.

Shangwoo Shin got the time and space to patiently wait on the right side of the Ukrainian net before sending a pass to Jin Hui Ahn to the left, who gave Korean the lead. However, Ukraine stepped up in the period and was rewarded.

Sergi Babynets took Korea goalie Matt Dalton the puck away behind the net, skated back and put the puck in to tie the game.

“Our team was doing the best, sometimes even more than they could. There’s of course always the desire to do something magic but it’s not always possible,” Ukraine head coach Olexander Savitsky said after the game. “We have youngsters with good potential and hopefully in the next championship they will be good.”

There were several hot moments in the third period like when defenceman Vsevolod Tolstushko saved a Korean shot with his skate and on the other side a Ukrainian shot missed the net me millimetres.

For the last 29 seconds of regulation time and 71 seconds of the overtime period the Koreans played with a man advantage but Eduard Zakharchenko in the Ukrainian net had a strong night. Korea outshot Ukraine 8-0 in the 3-on-3 overtime. They managed to skate close to the Ukrainian net to shoot several times but missed out from great positions.

However, in the shootout the Koreans were eventually more efficient while Dalton made two great saves to lead Korea to the top division.